Micah Parsons gets OT sack but nobody wins in Packers' visit to Dallas a month after trade

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Micah Parsons finally got a sack for the Green Bay Packers against his former mentor in overtime, but nobody won in the star rusher's return to Dallas on Sunday night.

The Cowboys had to settle for a short field goal on the opening possession in overtime, that kick coming two plays after Parsons tackled a scrambling Dak Prescott from behind at the 4 — on a play for no gain that went as a sack.

“I'm supposed to make that play,” Parsons said after the much-hyped reunion. “That's the reason why I'm here.”

After that, the Packers got a field goal of their own at the end of the extra 10-minute period for a 40-40 tie, the NFL's first deadlock since 2022.

Parsons’ return came came exactly a month after the Cowboys unloaded him in a blockbuster trade that ended a long and acrimonious stalemate through training camp and the preseason over a contract extension.

“All in all, the emotions for me being in Dallas went away the moment they traded me,” Parsons said. “I didn’t even get to talk to my owner (Jerry Jones), the person that drafted me. I found out through my agent. ... So to me, that emotion side was pointless, because the same way he called me in his office as a man, he couldn’t tell me as a man. So to me that that emotion side was gone. It was more about a respect factor at this point.”

Parsons finished with that sack, two assisted tackles and three quarterback hurries.

The trade to Green Bay was contingent upon Parsons agreeing to a $188 million, four-year extension. That $47 million annual average is the highest for a non-quarterback in league history.

Jones had believed he had a deal in place with Parsons at $40.5 million per season, which at the time would have made Parsons the first defensive player to surpass $40 million annually. That came in a conversation between the two, and Jones never engaged Parsons’ agent despite the 2021 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year’s insistence that David Mulugheta be his final negotiator.

Just as Jones said during the week that it wasn't appropriate for a video tribute of Parsons' four seasons in Dallas, the owner also said after the game he didn't feel it was right for them to talk beforehand.

“What are we supposed to do when we’re getting ready to play each other? And all’s at stake for him, and all’s at stake for our team, and the Cowboys. And that’s not appropriate to be visiting as you get ready to play,” Jones said. “I know very few people other than his family that have any more pleasant talks with Micah than I’ve had.”

As for if there was any talk on the field between the rusher and the quarterback, Prescott said, “Zero. None at all, until afterward. It was good talks afterward. Staying healthy. Great job. It was fun competing against you.”

On the Packers’ final defensive play of regulation, Parsons was charging hard and bumped into Prescott after he let go of a 28-yard TD to George Pickens in the final minute for a 37-34 lead. That was the seventh consecutive lead-change touchdown before the Packers ended regulation with a field goal.

Then in overtime, Dallas only got that deep after Prescott, while being pursed by Parsons, hit Jalen Tolbert for a 34-yard gain after he somehow managed to get both feet in bounds.

Parsons told The Associated Press at the start of the week that it would be “painful” to sack his mentor, Prescott.

But it was Parsons who grabbed at his back on the sideline after going down hard on a play late in the third quarter.

“I came out for a play, and next thing you know they took me in a tent. I thought that was very weird, because I didn’t even grab my head when I came up. I grabbed my back,” he said. “That was just so weird. I don’t know what the NFL saw or why they tried to put me in concussion protocol.”

Once out of that tent, Parsons got his helmet and turned toward the field just as the Cowboys scored. He raised his arms in apparent frustration and almost threw his helmet.

After the Packers retook the lead with a touchdown, Parsons was on the field for their first defensive play after that early in the fourth quarter.

Parsons has 2 1/2 sacks for the Packers, while the Cowboys not surprisingly have been left with one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL. Dallas also had the 32nd-ranked pass defense and, on the game’s opening drive gave up a 46-yard pass on a third-and-9 before Jordan Love's 2-yard TD pass, the first of his three while throwing for 337 yards.

“I think Micah is a pro. He shows up every day, competes at a very high level,” Love said. “There’s probably a lot of emotion coming back here and (he) wanted to have a great game. He made a big-time play right there when they were close to the end zone.”

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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) is stopped as he carries the ball by Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons, rear, in overtime of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons lines up against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws a pass under pressure from Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) rushes as Dallas Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert (1) and Tyler Guyton (60) defend in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Green Bay Packers' Micah Parson arrives for an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Green Bay Packers' Micah Parson arrives for an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Green Bay Packers' Micah Parsons walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

A sign outside a home across the street from Lambeau Field thanks Dallas Cowboy's owner Jerry Jones for trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Megargee)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.

Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.

On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.

No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.

After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)